Congress likely to delay action on immigration overhaul

Monday

Sep 9, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 9, 2013 at 11:29 AM

WASHINGTON - Congress is likely to postpone consideration of an immigration overhaul until the end of the year, if not longer, even as advocates are preparing for an all-out, urgent push this fall to win their long-standing goal of a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants living here illegally.

WASHINGTON - Congress is likely to postpone consideration of an immigration overhaul until the end of the year, if not longer, even as advocates are preparing for an all-out, urgent push this fall to win their long-standing goal of a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants living here illegally.

In Washington, the debate over military action in Syria and a looming face-off with President Barack Obama over the budget and the nation's borrowing limit are at the top of the legislative agenda, while Republican angst about losing Latino voters in the 2012 presidential campaign has faded.

In the House, where many Republicans view an overhaul bill passed by the Senate as too kind to immigrant lawbreakers, the legislative summer recess has done little to stoke enthusiasm for immediate action. Senior Republican aides in the House say immigration is at the back of the line and unlikely to come up for months.

The prospect of a delay is generating frustration among supporters of the legislation, who felt emboldened by a summer in which conservative opposition in House districts largely fizzled and immigrant groups seized the chance to lobby lawmakers on their home turf.

"The more they delay, the worse it will be for them," said Eliseo Medina, who leads the immigration campaign for the Service Employees International Union, referring to members of Congress.

Throughout August, immigration groups organized hundreds of visits to congressional offices, town hall meetings, vigils, marches and rallies, creating a constant buzz in the districts of many House lawmakers, particularly Republicans. Yesterday, Catholic priests around the country preached for a comprehensive immigration overhaul.

At a Mass devoted to immigration in Cincinnati, a mix of Catholics, including immigrants from Mexico and Central America and African-Americans, prayed for Congress to act.

"Families in our communities are being ripped apart by deportations, and the system is in chaos," said Tony Stieritz, director of Catholic Social Action for the Cincinnati Archdiocese, who helped organize the Mass. "A vote for delay is a vote for crisis and disorder in the current system."

Time is not on their side. In June, the Senate passed a bipartisan plan to overhaul border security and grant illegal immigrants a chance to earn citizenship. If the House does not take up the immigration issue until 2014, members will face the prospect of voting on a highly contentious issue in the middle of a congressional election year.